Copyright © 2021 Theresa Harvard Johnson
It doesn’t feel like anything can bloom in a desert. Yet, the Lord says it can.
In fact, he promises that our souls will not only bloom there but thrive as a contradiction to the habitat around it.
Isaiah 35:1, “The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, 2 it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.”
Deserts, those dry parched places in our lives, are designed to bear fruit in the midst of the devastating world around it. We are not just to “get through” the desert… but learn how to thrive in it… when necessary. Some trouble is with us always.
When I reflect on my own life, I must admit that some losses and tragedies seem more than what the heart can bear. To try to learn a lesson from those moments is like saying “find the good” in your darkness hour and be eternally happy. And I have found myself mocking that idea… that weird spiritual thought process that seems to demand “a party” in the midst of misery.
The truth is, that is not what the desert of the Scriptures teach us. That’s not what the crocus that rises from the ashes comes to present.
Rather it says: “Face this moment of truth Theresa. I am imparting Christ’s Shalom to you in a way that reveals the insurmountable KEEPING POWER that gives you wisdom to finish this life and finish this race knowing that you are loved, knowing that your work isn’t finished.”
Bursting into bloom is really awakening to a greater revelation of who God is in, through and around us. It is ACCESSING and ENTERING into a place of presence so profound… that THE DESERT IS NO LONGER YOUR FOCUS… but the HOPE of Christ is.
The catalyst for dry, cracked land and miles upon miles of desert isn’t a magic rescue, but the hope for Christ’s shalom in whatever circumstance we find ourselves in.
The catalyst is not our ability to be strong people, but to be strong enough to fall into the hands of THE GOD OF THE DESERT! In that place, we don’t simply walk through… but we understand that He carries us through it.
I heard Father say: “I AM THAT KIND OF CROCUS IN THE DESERTS OF MY LIFE. YOU ARE A CROCUS IN THE DESERT.”
Life hurts. I mean, it hurts REALLY BAD! The cross-walk wasn’t a ballroom dance for Christ. Being MURDERED while people watched and did nothing wasn’t a slip and slide for the apostles. But the souls in the battle WERE LIKE A CROCUS in the hand of the Lord.
God doesn’t expect us not to hurt or to ignore our emotions. What he does expect is for us to rise and move forward in spite of them. We were created TO FEEL!
In this life as sons, we must set the following principle as an immovable, unshakable truth: WE WILL HAVE TROUBLE! BUT DESERTS ARE FOR GROWING WHEN WE ARE SONS, NOT WITHERING AND DYING!
We get to choose which… even in the absolute worst moments of our lives. We must understand that real death in the Kingdom is a lack of hope IN CHRIST, not a PERCEIVED lack a rescue from our pain. It is a mind and heart shift that only Holy Spirit can help us solidify.
Verses 3-4 says, “Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; 4 say to those with fearful hearts, Be strong, do not fear your God will (has) come….”
Verses 5-7 declares, “5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. 6 Then will the lame(S) leap like a deer, and the mute tongue(U) shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. 7 The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling spring. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow. 8 AND A HIGHWAY WILL BE THERE; IT WILL BE CALLED THE WAY OF HOLINESS; IT WILL BE FOR THOSE WHO WALK ON THAT WAY!”
I heard Father say, “Get up one more time. Grab that mustard seed of faith. Know that you can thrive in the desert as He makes it an oasis for you!”
It is not over for us as sons. Weeping endures for a night BUT JOY IN THE LORD comes in the morning.
Learn more about the crocus here. (We really don’t know exactly what flower the crocus is in the Bible. But it’s species shed tremendous light on the plant itself. Be blessed by what you learn.)
